Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 26283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
“Does she look forced?” she giggles, elbowing Cat. “She looks like a cat who’s caught a bird.”
She turns and grins at me before peering into my eyes before suddenly her brows shoot up.
“Wait… oh my God, did you…”
I blush fiercely.
“Una!”
“Well?!” She laughs. “You were out on a boat alone on the ocean with Lord McAuley. The stars, the waves rocking…”
I blush fiercely. So does Rhona. Cat just snorts.
“I did not,” I say primly.
“So, tonight then?”
“Una,” I hiss.
Cat grins as she leans in.
“So, are you ready?”
My jaw drops, but she just laughs.
“For the wedding, I mean,” she giggles. “You’re really ready for this?”
I don’t even hesitate.
“Yes, I am.”
Cat grins, throwing her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you, Ail.”
“And you’re not marrying Carlson anymore,” Rhona says, wrinkling her nose. “Thank God for that.”
I make a face. “How bad was it when we left?”
“Oh, when your soon-to-be-husband stole Carlson’s boat along with his bride, half an hour before the wedding?”
Cat shrugs.
“Oh, it was fine. Not a problem at all.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Ail, what do you think? He’s ready for war.”
I swallow, paling, but Una smiles, putting a hand on me.
“It’s going to be fine. He’ll be mad, and he might threaten. But he’s not going to go to war with Malcolm over it. Not when Malcolm’s friends with Hamish and Callum. And not when any of the other lords and chieftains around know them from the Crusades, which Carlson didn’t fight in.”
“Also, we’re on an island in case you missed that,” Cat smirks. “You’re safe.”
Rhona makes a face, shivering. I catch her eye.
“Still worried about Vikings?”
She blushes.
“No.”
Cat snorts. “She’s just hoping Tor Odinson comes back for some ravaging.”
“Catriona!” she hisses, blushing fiercely.
Cat, Una, and I devolve into laughter before Una sighs and turns to me, grinning.
“Okay, are you ready?”
I nod. “Yeah, I am. My parents?”
Una makes a face. “Your father was pretty mad.”
I scowl. “Well then he shouldn’t have tried to sell me off as a business asset to Carlson.”
Una smiles, squeezing my hand.
“Let’s get you married.”
Cat giggles.
“And then you can get to the good part.”
I’m rolling my eyes when Una snorts.
“The good part, huh? Would you like to tell us what exactly you know about the ‘good part,’ Cat?”
Cat’s face goes red, her mouth opening and closing before she seems to catch herself and shrug.
“Just because I haven’t jumped into bed within anyone, doesn’t mean I don’t know what it involves, Una,” she says primly.
Una winks at me, and I know full well that she’s teasing Cat about having disappeared with Callum Bruce in the aftermath of Tor Odinson’s attack during Una’s wedding to Hamish. Rhona catches the look too and grins as Una turns back to our friend.
“Are you sure it wasn’t Lord Bruce who was teaching you about the ‘good parts’?” she teases, and the three of us giggle as Cat turns beet red.
“That is—!” Cat sputters, looking extremely guilty as she tries to swallow the heat from her face.
“Lord Bruce is… is…” Cat scowls. “He’s a brute is what he is. If you think I’d have anything to do with some gruff, growly warrior type of man, you’ve got another thing—”
There’s no way she even comes close to finishing that sentence before the Una, Rhona, and I completely dissolve into laughter.
I grin, going over to hug my scowling friend.
“How about we stop teasing you for now so I can go get married.”
She chews on her lip, smiling through her pout at me. “I think that sounds good.”
I grin. “But don’t think for a second that I’m done prodding you for answers about this.”
She rolls her eyes. “There is nothing to say, trust me. Lord Callum was injured during the Viking raid, and I merely helped mend him. That’s all, Una,” she mutters, glaring at our married friend.
Una winks. “Whatever you say, Cat.”
“Thank you,” Cat mutters primly before turning back to me. “Okay, can we please go get our friend married now?”
Rhona grins. “So she can get to the good parts?”
Cat groans as the three of us fall into giggles all over again.
Chapter 9
Malcolm
“You’re an arse, you know that?”
I arch a brow as I whirl towards the door to my chambers, just in time to see Callum and Hamish stroll through it. I grin, lowering the glass from my lips.
“Well, well, well,” I chuckle, shaking my head.
“Were you actually planning on getting married without us here?” Hamish mutters, shaking his head.
“Yes.” I grin, raising my glass to my two good friends. “Yes, I was.”
Callum glares at me before he rolls his eyes. “Prick.”
Hamish chuckles. “Almost got away with it, too.”
I grin as I walk over to my table, sliding two more glasses across it and splashing them with whiskey before gesturing to my friends. It’s been a few hours since Ailith and I arrived back here at Carrick Castle, and we’re to be married by my priest in the next half an hour. Obviously, in a perfect world, my two best friends would of course have been invited to stand by my side for my wedding. But the arrangements I made the moment I stepped off the boat, and I’ve been counting down the minutes since.